Brunch Party Ideas to Avoid Stress Every Easter
Yaaas Springtime!
I’ve been hosting Easter brunch for my extended family for about 10 years. The food and drink in the brunch buffet is down to a science. That leaves my husband and I the few weeks in advance to focus on spring cleaning and swapping out my home’s winter decorations for cheerier springtime ones! I’ve taken our experiences of hosting Easter brunch and countless other parties and build them into this 4 Part Guide: Brunch Party Ideas to Avoid Stress Every Easter.
My favorite season of the year, being a Midwestern girl, is Spring! I appreciate it so much. After a long, dreary winter it’s the best feeling to open the windows, spring clean, flowers blooming, and of course brunch!
Hosting Easter Brunch Doesn’t Need to Be Stressful
To begin with, an Easter brunch party is meant to be enjoyed! I feel like many people I know are always looking to Pinterest for unique décor, food, drinks and activities for their brunch parties. I get it, there are countless cute ideas and I’m a sucker for this all too. However, this brunch party isn’t for a baby shower or bachelorette party. This is an Easter brunch party; a holiday. Think about it… Your family has it’s go-to staples for Thanksgiving and Christmas, right?
No one is upset because you’re serving turkey again for Thanksgiving! No one is kicking Gramma to the curb for making her lasagna for Christmas every stinkin’ year! Holidays are totally about traditions, so your Easter brunch doesn’t need to be any different!
~Memory in the Making
Now that you’re hosting Easter, take a few queues from your family’s traditions and put your own spin on things! So let’s go over some brunch party ideas for you to avoid stress, every Easter!
Do you ever end up in an argument with your husband before hosting a party? You’re not alone. It’s likely due to unclear goals and deliverables. That’s why I developed my 14 Fundamentals of Personal Project Management for planning fun, lifelong memories. I highly recommend you take a look at and give these principals some thought, in the weeks before your Easter brunch. Also, BEFORE you talk to your husband about Easter. Keep in mind, these 14 Fundamentals apply to many other fun projects.
Now, let’s avoid stress and use this 4 part guide’s brunch party ideas to create your to do list!
Brunch Party Ideas to Avoid Stress Every Easter
Now, let’s bypass the anxiety of overwhelming last minute surprises. Let this 4 part guide to build your pre-party to do list. First, there’s a simple step to get this party started!
BRUNCH PARTY IDEAS PART 1:
Invite Your Guests
Likely your invitees are all family members. For us, we invite the entire extended family on all 3 sides. Whether it’s your first-time hosting Easter brunch or your 10th, always send a quick invite so everyone blocks their calendars. It also sets the tone and gets everyone excited to see each other! Usually a month or so in advance I send a quick, Save the Date email out to everyone. I send in email because it saves me the time of starting several text message chains.
Send out a reminder
About a week in advance, I’ll send out a “reminder” that I can’t wait to see everyone, and so they remember what time to swing by.
Establish a timeline. Some family members may be coordinating Easter plans with their other side of the family so this very beneficial for them.
Usually, family will ask what they can bring to the party. At this point, it’s ideal to already have your menu mapped out so you can assign them something if you wish. You can also let them know what you already have planned, and ask them to bring their favorite or traditional thing to share. Another great answer: a bottle of champagne for the mimosa bar! >>Check out my post, The Best Juices for Mimosa Bar!
We have an Easter egg hunt for the kids, so I will add a few more details so guests know what to expect. And let guests know we plan to be outside, so they dress accordingly. You never know with Spring weather in Chicago!
Second, let’s talk about prepping your home for the party.
BRUNCH PARTY IDEAS PART 2:
Prep Your Home
Don’t overwhelm yourself with trying to knock out your ENTIRE Spring-cleaning list before the party. You’ll make yourself crazy. Easter is always early in Spring, so focus on a few things to make your home cheerful after a long hard winter.
The primary goal of these brunch party ideas is to AVOID STRESS.
~Memory in the Making
So only AFTER you’ve completed your pre-party to do list should you move on to other Spring-cleaning projects.
Inside prep
More than likely, you’ll be serving brunch buffet spread on your kitchen island. If so, de-clutter your kitchen counters. Now is not the time to re-organize your junk drawer!
If possible, hire a cleaning service to come by, the Friday before the party. Give the bathrooms and floors a once over, so you can focus on your décor and the outside.
This isn’t Christmastime. Easter can be a lot simpler as far as decorations go. So focus on these few decorating basics:
The morning of your party, make sure your dishwasher is empty prior to guests arriving. Will make it easier to throw in last minute dirty dishes or cooking utensils and make the post-brunch cleanup much easier.
Outside prep
At this change of the season, the exterior of your home is probably pretty drab and needing some TLC. Give your hubby a to do list well in advance so he can get started on projects sooner than later.
If possible, schedule a landscaping company to come out and do their spring cleaning to your yard. This will save you a ton of time. Fresh mulch and edging goes a long way and is plenty good enough for an Easter party.
Buy some pre-arranged flower baskets from Home Depot and drop them into pots by your front door. Major time savings versus picking out all of the flowers and potting the arrangements yourself.
Pull back out the outdoor seating. If your seating has sat out all winter, give it a good rinse down. Not something you want to do the morning before the party because everything will be wet! (Oops, we’ve made that mistake before!)
Pick up the dog poop! The kids will be running around in the yard to find Easter eggs. They will not dodge the piles in their excitement.
Add a few decorations, like Easter egg hunt signs with stakes to the yard.
Third, it’s time to plan your food and drink menu.
BRUNCH PARTY IDEAS PART 3:
Plan Your Brunch Buffet
As I mentioned, every single year doesn’t need to be starting from scratch. The goal is to establish your Easter brunch buffet menu and stick with it for years to come. This will allow you to avoid stress. Skip the scrolling through 900 Pinterest recipes. Don’t create the stress of planning the menu each year. Avoid the stress of making recipes for the first time, right before guest arrive. You’ll thank me later!
Try and stick to these few menu rules:
Next, I’ll provide examples to save you a bunch of time!
EXAMPLE BRUNCH MENU
As mentioned, over 10 years of hosting Easter brunch, my menu is pretty much a lock. That being said, these recipes work really well for feeding a crowd. They don’t create a huge last-minute mess. They are simple, which is very important to us. And lastly, they’re absolutely delicious! Something for everyone.
We feed approximately 20 people, including kids. It’s good to have something for everyone’s varying tastes, diet restrictions and allergies. Yet another reason it’s much easier to stick with what works!
FOOD
Our crowd tested menu’s recipes are linked here for your convenience, and the Pinterest pins located at the end of this post. Feel free to rip of this spread and call it your own, I won’t tell anyone!
- Ham
- Honey butter roasted whole carrots
- Parmesan garlic roasted baby potatoes
- Egg and cheese tortilla cups (we skip the ham because we make a big ham)
- Fresh, grapefruit, orange and avocado salad
- Cinnamon rolls (these are cute ones, but if I’m not in the mood, I just pop them in like normal)
- My Mom’s “Sausalito toast” (our recipe below!)
- Cream cheese stuffed celery
- Fresh fruit
- Hardboiled eggs (dyed)
- Condiments: mustards, horseradish, hot sauce
Mom’s “Sausalito Toast” recipe is inspired by a mother-daughter vacation to Sonoma and Napa, California many years ago. On the drive between San Francisco and wine country is an adorable town called Sausalito. It has an incredible views of the San Francisco skyline, the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz island. We popped into a local spot for a sunrise coffee and breakfast on our way back to the airport and ordered this most delicious creation! Paired with a lovely cappuccino and Mmmmm mmmm! We’ve been making this for brunch and at every opportunity we can! It’s insanely easy, only takes about 10 minutes. YOU HAVE GOT TO MAKE THIS FOR YOUR NEXT BRUNCH PARTY!
Mom’s “Sausalito Toast”
Equipment
- 1 Toaster
- 1 Bread knife
Ingredients
- 12 inches Ciabatta bread (bakery fresh) Loaves vary in size
- 8 oz Mascarpone cheese
- 6 oz Blueberries
- 6 oz Raspberries
- 6 oz Blackberries
- Honey to drizzle
Instructions
- Slice the bread so the pieces are approx. 1 inch thick each
- Toast each slice of bread in your toaster (medium heat)
- Wash and dry the berries while bread is toasting
- Smear a healthy portion of mascarpone cheese on each slice, once the bread is cooled
- Drop the berries on each of the slices to toast, evenly
- Drizzle (3 – 6 passes per slice) with honey
Video
Notes
Next, it wouldn’t be brunch without mimosas! My family’s famous mimosas have a simple twist on the classic and it’s always a crowd pleaser! Be sure to check out my post, The Best Juices for Mimosa Bar plus the recipe for our “Espi’mosas”!
Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, meaning that if you click through & make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support!
DRINK
mY FAMILY’S FAMOUS ESPI’MOSA RECIPE
CROWD PLEASING SIMPLE TWIST ON A CLASSIC MIMOSA
- Champagne or bubbly of choice
- Orange juice
- Cranberry juice
- Coffee
- Milk or creamer
- Water
- Soda
- Other adult beverages, such as: Bailey’s, beer or rosé
- Bag of ice
Find my other recommendations for the Best Juices for Mimosa Bar here! You’ll never guess the 3rd best style!
Mix things up with these other brunch party ideas for delicious, seasonal varieties of mimosas!
dessert
My Grandma used to always make “lamb-cakes” for each household to take home. That is waaaaaay too much work for me, so my wonderful mom has taken over this tradition.
Lamb cake is really good. It’s a pound cake with a French butter cream frosting. You bake in this 3D lamb cake baking mold. We add shredded coconut to our frosting. And to really just go for it… smear butter on the shortbread cake when you slice your piece. Mmmm.
Brunch is usually sweet enough, so dessert is by no means a requirement. Or ask a volunteer to bring it.
Now, lets move on to some more brunch party ideas for your buffet that will go a long way in avoiding stress!
Preparing to serve Easter brunch
There are a few simple things you can do to make sure you actually ENJOY your party. A little preparation goes a long way. Add these to your to do list:
BRUNCH PARTY IDEAS PART 4:
The Easter Egg Hunt
On this occasion, if the grandparents, aunts and uncles spoil your kids with Easter baskets full of sugar like mine do, the last thing I want to do is stuff the plastic Easter eggs with more candy or junky toys.
If you haven’t seen my post, Un’egg’spected Easter Egg Hunt to Get Them Hopping!, definitely head on over to that page and download your free printable! Literally. They’ll be hopping and doing all sorts of calisthenics to burn off their sugar high!
Seriously, it’s super simple. Just print, cut, fill and you’re done. And you were gonna stuff the eggs anyway, amiright?
This freebie Easter egg hunt printable is hilariously entertaining. I promise, you’ll be cracking up and recommend it to all your friends. Save this Pin to your board now to come back to it!
If you want to amp up the stakes a bit, see the prize ideas (including no-prep prizes), for finding the Golden Egg, see below! To begin with, Download now!
Also, my Easter Egg Hunt post also includes cool ideas for when you have kids of varying ages.
Thirdly, I like to give the uncles, dads and grandpas the eggs to go hide in the backyard, while everyone’s arriving and enjoying their first mimosa before my Easter brunch buffet is set out. (If you haven’t seen my post on The Best Juices for Mimosa Bar and recipe to our family’s famous Espi’mosa, definitely check that out next!) This is a super fun way to get the whole family involved and it’s one less thing I need to remember; where did I put those last 2 missing eggs?
If you live in the Chicagoland area or the Midwest, you will appreciate this one… Lastly, it’s so nice to have the hunt outdoors, even if it’s chilly! Appreciate the first signs of Spring! Worst case, have a back-up plan for where you want the guys to hide the Easter eggs indoors.
Time To Get Your Brunch On!
I bet you’re as excited for your Easter party as I am! To recap, there are 4 main parts to make sure these brunch party ideas come to life:
- Invite your guests
- Prep your home
- Plan your brunch buffet
- Setup an an awesome Easter egg hunt
Before you get started, don’t forget to review my 14 Fundamentals of Personal Project Management for planning fun, lifelong memories. I suggest you start there. Next, go back through this post to make your pre-party to do list. Finally, download your FREE printable Easter egg hunt!
Without a doubt, save this Brunch Party Ideas to Avoid Stress Every Easter Pin on your board!
…Or text a link to your partner in crime!
Finally, follow me @memoryinthemaking on Pinterest or
@meminthemaking on Instagram and Facebook!
If you think this is cool, visit my Memory in the Making blog for tons more inspiration! And get your next memory in the making!
